Study: New Teachers Are Best "Research reveals that 80 per cent of staff in their first seven years in the classroom produced value-added results at or above the expected level. But this fell to 68 per cent for those with between eight and 23 years’ experience and to 59 per cent for those with 24 years or more." Times Literary Supplement 09/29/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:30 pm
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In Chelsea: Supersize Me! A new generation of supersized galleries is changing New York's Chelsea. "The model of the old garage warehouse is over. There's a real pressure on the galleries to update their space. Museums are on a building boom, so both they and collectors expect more from gallery architecture. Galleries have to stay current because their clients are moving ahead. It's less about program and more about the character of the space."
New York Sun 10/02/06 Posted: 10/02/2006 9:29 am
Art In A Million Pieces "Art, wherever it is made, no longer subscribes to a single dominant trend with a few rambunctious alternatives jostling for supremacy. Art is eclectic — and today we take that eclecticism for granted. Look around. The extreme breadth of artistic diversity is so familiar and so routine as to border on invisibility."
Los Angeles Times 10/01/06 Posted: 10/02/2006 9:16 am
Charles Saatchi, Omnivore Saatchi, one of the world's most ostentatious art collectors, says he looks at more art than anyone else. "If you look enough – and I've been doing it for a long, long time – you get a sense of what suits you. That doesn't mean that I don't make tremendous mistakes all the time, walking straight past something that I discover a year or two later is terrific."
The Telegraph (UK)` 10/01/06 Posted: 10/02/2006 9:03 am
This Year's Turner Prize Show It's up, and you can see picture here. "Tomma Abts, Phil Collins, Mark Titchner and Rebecca Warren are competing for the accolade, given to outstanding projects by UK artists aged under 50."
BBC 10/02/06 Posted: 10/02/2006 8:38 am
Is LA The New American Art Capital? "New venues have been springing up like some genetically altered mushroom able to thrive in full sunshine. The already decentralized metropolis can now boast of galleries in neighborhoods from Culver City (the current center of buzz, if not always daring cerebration) to Chinatown and Santa Monica."
New York Times Magazine 10/01/06 Posted: 10/01/2006 9:23 pm
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Denying Evolution, Chicago Style "At a time when symphony orchestras and opera companies are marching proudly into the brave new electronic future of classical music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra seems content to dither on the sidelines as the parade passes by... Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of the orchestra's discontinuing its locally and nationally syndicated radio broadcasts because of a lack of funding. That same year, 2001, the CSO and then-music director Daniel Barenboim lost their recording contract with Warner Classics." Chicago Tribune 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:42 am
When Does Controversy Become Unnecessary Provocation? The cancellation of a German production of Mozart's Idomeneo because of fears that it could inflame Islamic fundamentalists has the arts world debating its role in an increasingly dangerous world. "Artists are raising important questions, but we as a society are a bit frightened to be open to these ideas. We need a safe place to discuss them, and it's unfortunate that the arts are being attacked in this way, when they really are a place for exploration." San Francisco Chronicle 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:01 am
- Door Still Slightly Ajar For Idomeneo Deutsche Oper says it would consider reinstating the cancelled production of Mozart's Idomeneo if it receives security assurances. "At a government summit Tuesday with Islamic leaders, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble proposed that the participants go to see the opera together if it is ever staged again, [and] Berlin's top cultural official, Thomas Flierl, said that he wanted the opera brought back." The Globe & Mail (AP) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:00 am
- Mozart's Real Anti-Islamic Operas Joshua Kosman points out that Idomeneo is a strange opera to be causing such a storm of controversy. In fact, the scene giving such offense was inserted by a director looking to stir the pot, and has nothing to do with Mozart. "The irony is that there are a handful of familiar operas, including two that are performed regularly as part of the standard repertoire, that have anti-Muslim sentiment -- or at least comedic disrespect -- built into their very DNA." San Francisco Chronicle 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 8:50 am
Small Market Orchestra Gets Big Time Radio Deal The New Jersey Symphony has always had a tough time making itself heard above the roar of the high-profile New York orchestras just across the river. But thanks to a new deal with New York radio station WQXR, the NJSO will shortly be heard in concert across the country on a new weekly broadcast series. Not only that, but thanks to WQXR's well-respected brand name, the NJSO broadcasts will debut in six of the top ten media markets in the U.S. Newark Star-Ledger 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 8:26 am
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Historic Performances, Online YouTube isn't just for home video and TV shows. There's lots of arts footage, too. "Seeing these artists, most of whom are now known to us only through their recordings, is an awe-inspiring experience. To watch Art Tatum rippling through a bristlingly virtuosic version of Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," or Richard Strauss conducting his tone poem "Till Eulenspiegel" with a cool detachment that borders on the blasé, is to learn something about the essence of their art that no verbal description, however insightful or evocative, can supply." Wall Street Journal 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:45 pm
Variety To Be Hallmark Of Miami PAC Some observers have questioned the viability of Miami's new performing arts center, given the fact that the Florida Philharmonic, which was to be one of the center's anchor tenants, folded several years ago. But with 465 performances scheduled for the center's first season, supporters are hopeful that they can build a loyal local audience with a succession of high-profile touring orchestras and a healthy dose of Latin flavor. Miami Herald 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:59 am
- Will It All Be Worth It? New performing arts venues have served as the cornerstone of a larger cultural renaissance in several American cities. But will it work in Miami? "For all its efforts and aspirations, Miami clearly is no Manhattan, no Vienna... [But the center] may put a more visible stamp on the cultural community here and get people to find out about other cultural organizations in Miami." Miami Herald 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:57 am
KC PAC Digs In After years of planning and fundraising delays, ground will finally be broken this week on Kansas City's new downtown performing arts center. "The two-hall, $325 million project scheduled to open in fall 2009 will feature a state-of-the-art, 1,600-seat symphony hall, an 1,800-seat opera-ballet hall and a multipurpose Celebration Hall for chamber performances or educational purposes." Kansas City Star 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:56 am
Papers Opting Out Of "Grim" Assassination Ad A documentary-style film purporting to depict the assassination of President Bush has been the talk of film festivals around the world this fall. But as the film prepare to go into wider release, newspapers have a tough decision to make when they are asked to run ads for the movie featuring a presidential tombstone. Toronto Star 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:02 am
Big Culture Cuts Up North Canada has a Conservative government for the first time in over a decade, and the effect of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's budget-cutting plan has been felt immediately by the country's heavily subsidized arts organizations. "This week, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it would slash $11.8-million from its 'public diplomacy' budget... Canada's spending was already pathetic, [and] foreign tourists already think of Canada as Mounties, mountains, maple syrup, Molson's and moose. So these cuts are painfully shortsighted." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:18 am
Just Shut Up And Sign The Checks As the major arts groups of Wales debate a change which would see the country's arts council replaced by a system of direct funding from the government, leaders are warning that politicians will need to learn to separate their personal feelings from their funding decisions. "If politicians believe they can give artistic advice in return for handing out money, the culture industry could suffer rather than thrive." Western Mail (Cardiff) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:13 am
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The Amazing Thomas Quasthoff "As his fans well know but newcomers absorb with a jolt, the 46-year-old Quasthoff is a thalidomide victim, one of thousands of deformed children born to women who took the drug for insomnia or morning sickness during pregnancy. He spent much of his early childhood in an institution for the severely handicapped and grew up to receive music’s highest accolades, including three Grammy awards." New York Times Magazine 10/01/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 8:42 am
Anne Sophie Mutter To Retire The violinist, who is 43, says she'll retire in two years. " 'It is my plan to stop when I reach my 45th birthday,' the German-born violin virtuoso declared Sunday evening in an interview with the French-German television channel Arte." Musical America 10/02/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 8:35 am
I, Superboy That's what they call Richard Li, who just gave Ottawa's National Arts Center $1 million. He's the son of one of the richest men in the world and a patron of the arts... Ottawa Citizen 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 8:58 pm
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A Chorus Line Of Stories (Waiting To Be Paid) The new Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line" has some of the dancers whose stories were used in the show remembering that they weren't properly compensated for those stories. "At one point, when we were young and stupid, we kind of signed our lives away, and they exploited that. We were the authors of the show, and we should have been paid accordingly." The New York Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 9:20 am
The Disappearing Overture "An unscientific survey of 30 recent, current or forthcoming Broadway musicals reveals that only 7 have an old-fashioned overture." The New York Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:51 pm
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Another Big Indie Bookstore Bites The Dust "Coliseum Books, the Midtown Manhattan store known for its knowledgeable staff, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection." New York Sun 10/02/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 9:35 am
Eco Goes Big In Publishing "It isn't on the fringe anymore. Nowadays doing the right thing can also pay off for publishers. It works in three ways. You have happy, committed employees with a mission.You know you are getting the message out and helping to save the planet. And being green adds green to the bottom line." New York Sun 10/02/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 9:33 am
When All The Books Are Online "Spurred by Google's initiative and by the lower costs, higher profits, and immense reach of unmediated digital distribution, book publishers and other copyright holders must at last overcome their historic inertia and agree, like music publishers, to market their proprietary titles in digital form either to be read on line or, more likely, to be printed on demand at point of sale..." New York Review of Books 10/17/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:26 pm
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Cost Of Making TV Skyrockets "A full season of a television drama now costs as much to make as the average feature film. More than half of the 14 drama pilots produced this fall for the major networks — CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox — cost $6 million or more. That's up 50% from just two years ago." Los Angeles Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/02/2006 9:11 am
Chicago Film Fest Survives (And That's Something) Ten years ago the Chicago International Film Festival was in trouble. "What's certain is that at a time of increased competition among film festivals and entertainment options in general, the Chicago International Film Festival has survived, which is no small feat." Chicago Tribune 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:59 pm
Critics Boo Film Festival Winner The announcement of the winning movie at the San Sebastian Film Festival irked critics. "Several of them shouted 'No, no' and made thumbs-down gestures when it was announced that Mon Fils a Moi, or My Son, had won a Golden Shell." BBC 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:35 pm
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William Forsythe Takes An Arty Turn "His work, increasingly, is on display not only on stages but in art galleries as well. He is a choreographer, trained in the classical mould, whose vocabulary grew from dancing with the Joffrey and Stuttgart Ballets. Yet one of his current plans is to make, in an art gallery in Munich, a memorial to the civilians who have died in Iraq in the form of a snowstorm of paper pieces, each printed with a name in Arabic." The Telegraph (UK) 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:54 pm
Place Prize Goes To Rajarani "An Indian classical dancer has won Europe's most prestigious award for choreography. London-based Nina Rajarani was last night awarded the £25,000 biennial Place prize, the dance world's equivalent to the Turner prize." The Observer (UK) 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:31 am
Rescuing Balanchine There are at least 75 Balanchine ballets that remain in the standard repertory today, 23 years after the legendary choreographer's death. But Balanchine created more than 400 ballets in his lifetime, many of which have not been preserved. Now, an ambitious effort is underway to rediscover some of what has been lost of Balanchine's legacy. The New York Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:15 am
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